Curtain stretcher



Feb. 18, 1941. w W, BLOCK 2,232,047

cURTAIN STRETCHER Filed Ooi. 30, 1939 'Patented Feb. 1s, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OEI-ICE l7 claims.

f'his invention relates to curtain stretchers and more particularly to pins used in suchstretchers to which articles to be stretched are secured in the use of the stretcher. The pins used heretofore have had sharp points thereon protruding from the frame of the stretcher and on which the materials to be stretched have been secured. The sharp points of these pins are dangerous and have caused injury to users of such stretchers. Other types of stretchers have utilized flat ended pins or pins provided with round heads in which the cross-sectional diameter of the base of the heads is larger than thatof the body of the pin. Such pins avoid the danger of accident to the users but have other disadvantages. The flat ended pins do not permit the installation of closely woven material thereon as the ends of the pins are of greater diameter than the interstices between the threads of the material. The round head pins permit spreading of the threads to enlarge the interstices therebetween, thus permitting installation of the material thereon but the large diameter of the underside of the heads prevents ready and easy withdrawal of material when it is desired to remove the same from the stretcher.

The principal object of this invention is to provide a curtain stretcher with pins which are not pointed and thus safe in use and which will permit installation of closely woven material without damage to the threads thereof and which will also permit ready and easy removal of the material from the stretcher.

Another object is to provide a curtain stretcher with pins which have rounded ends of no greater diameter than the diameter of the body of the pins, thus providing a pin which is safe in use and which permits ready and easy removal of material from the stretcher.

A further object is to provide a pin which will not damage the threads of material while applying the same to the stretcher and which will receive closely woven material by spreading the threads to enlarge the interstices therebetween and which will permit ready removal of the material Without catching the threads on the ends of the pins, thus providing easy and ready removal of the material therefrom.

Referring to the drawing wherein a selected embodiment of the invention is illustrated- Fig. 1 shows a plan view of a portion of a curtain stretcher frame;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken on the line 2-2 on Fig. 1; and

Fig. 3 is an elevational of a pin embodying my invention. v

The curtain stretcher, generally indicated by 4, is composed of fr'ame members 5 and 6 hinged or otherwise suitably secured together, Fig. 1 of the 5 drawing illustrates a. manner of hinging the frame members together at 1 where they are secured in position by a suitable wing nut and bolt 8. The pins 9 are generally spaced equidistantly apart along a depressed portion I0 of the frame 10 members and are installed at a predetermined Vangle to take the strain placed thereon by material installed on the frame. It is usual to insert the pins so that the outer or exposed end thereof is slightly below the top surface I2 of the frame 15 member. The pin 9 has a body portion I I pointed at one end I3 with a relatively long taper to permit its being readily driven into the frame member. I prefer to back up the frame member with a solid, hard substance when driving the pin so 20 that the pin may be driven to the solid, hard substance bending the pointed end I3 over to clinch it in the frame member, as best shown in Fig. 2. This clinching is not necessary though desirable,

and when the pins are not to be clinched over 25 they will be shortened slightly so that the pointed end thereof will not extend beyond the'bottom surface of the frame member. The other end portion of the pin is slightly tapered at I4, terminating in a rounded orball ended portion I5, 30 the diameter of which, no matter where taken, is not greater than the diameter of the body II. The juncture betweenthe tapered portion I4 and rounded end portion I5 is a merger of the two portions, there being no sharply defined shoulder 35 at this juncture. f

Loosely woven material, such as lace curtains, may of course be readily applied to the pins and closely woven material may likewise be readily installed, the rounded end I5 causing the threads 4Q to spread apart enlarging the interstices therebetween and the tapered portion -I4 further spreading the threads apart so that the material may be slipped onto the body of the pins thereof.

In very tightly woven material it will be satis- 45 factory to leave the same'on the tapered portion without pressing it down over the` body portion. The materials may be readily removed from the pin inasmuch as there is no sharply defined shoulder at the juncture between the tapered por- 50 tion and the rounded end portion, and vthe rounded end portion will again spread the threads apart gently to permit the material to be raised oil' of the pin. Although I deem it desirable, it is not always necessary that the tapered end porsmallest vend than the cross-sectional diameter of the rounded end portion, it being generally sufficient that the rounded end portion be of no greater diameter than any other portion of the pin exposed to reception of material.

While I have shown and described a selected embodiment of'myinvention it is to be understood that this is capable of variation and modication and I therefore do not wish to be limited to the precise details set forth but desire to avail myself of such changes and alterations as fall within the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. In a curtain` stretcher having a frame, and a one-piece pin adapted to pierce closely woven material and spread the threads thereof apart and having a body portion and end portions, one end portion being pointed and driven into said frame, the `other end portion being substantially hemispherical and of no greater cross-sectional diameter than said body portion;

2. In a curtain stretcher having a frame, and a one-piece pin adapted to pierce closely woven material and spread the threads thereof apart and having a body portion and end portions, one end portion beingv pointed and driveninto said frame, the other end portion being substantially hemispherical and of less cross-sectional diameter than said body portion.

3. In a curtain stretcher having a frame, and a one-piece pin adapted to pierce closely woven material and spread the threads thereof apart and having a body portion and end portions, one end portion being pointed and driven into said frame, the other end portion tapering oif slightly and terminating in a substantially hemispherical end.

4. In a curtain stretcher having a frame, and

' 40 a. one-piece pin adapted to pierce closely Woven material and spread the threads thereof apart and having a body portion and end portions, one end portion being pointed and driven into said frame, the other end portion tapering oi 45 slightly and terminating in a substantially hemispherical end of less cross-sectional diameter than vtion be of less cross-sectional diameter at its the body portion but of greater cross-sectional diameter than the smaller end of the tapered part of said other end portion.

5. In a curtain stretcher having a frame, and a. one-piece pin adapted to pierce closely woven material and spread the threads thereof apart and having a body portion and end portions, one end portion being pointed and driven into said frame, the otherend portion tapering off slightly and terminating in a. substantially hemispherical end of less cross-sectional diameter than the body portionl but of greater cross-sectional diameter than the smaller end of the tapered part of said other end portion, the surface of the tapered part merging into the surface of the substantially hemispherical end to provide a smooth contour at the juncture of the tapered part and the rounded end.

6. In a curtain stretcher having a frame, and a one-piece pin adapted to pierce closely woven material and spread the threads thereof apartand having a body portion and end portions, one end portion being pointed and driven into said'frame, the end of said one end portion being ,bent around to clinch the pin in said frame, the

other end portion being substantially hemispherical and of no greater cross-sectional diameter than said body portion.

7. In a curtain stretcher having a frame, and a one-piece pin adapted to pierce closely woven material and spread the threads thereof apart and having a body portion and endA portions, one end portion being pointed and driven into said frame, the other end portion tapering off slightly and terminating in a substantially hemispherical end of less cross-sectional diameter than the body portion but of greater cross-sectional diameter than the smaller end of the tapered part of said other end portion, the surface of the `tapered part merging into the surface of the'substantially hemispherical end to provide a smooth contour at the juncture of the tapered part and the substantially hemispherical end, the end of said one end portion being bent around to clinch the pin in said frame.

WALTER W. BLOCK. 

